This picture shows what the Venus transit in 2004 may look like. The big black dot near the bottom is Venus. The yellow arrows show how Venus will move during the transit. Click on image for full size (38K JPEG) This picture is original Windows to the Universe artwork created by Randy Russell. The image of the Sun is courtesy SOHO (ESA & NASA); information on the apparent size and path of Venus courtesy Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC.

Astronomers are excited about a rare event that will happen in early June 2004. There will be a transit of the planet Venus on June 8, 2004. "Transit" is a word used by astronomers when a planet moves between Earth and the Sun. A transit is a bit like an eclipse of the Sun, when the Moon moves between Earth and the Sun.

This Venus transit will be the first one anyone alive today has seen. The last transit of Venus was in 1882! There will be another Venus transit in 2012.

This NASA web site has lots of great info about the transit. Remember, it is never safe to look directly at the Sun!